Audit: Gas lines tied to fracking lack oversight

Mar. 22, 2012

Written by

Garance Burke

The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO-- Auditors say the federal government needs to track safety hazards tied to unregulated pipelines tapping oil and gas released through the drilling method known as fracking.

Thousands of miles of small pipelines have been installed in recent years to collect new gas flows and oil reserves tapped through the high-pressure drilling technique.

Many of these pipelines course through densely populated areas, including neighborhoods in Fort Worth, Texas.

About 240,000 miles of pipelines ferry oil and gas supplies to processing facilities and larger pipelines in the nation.

The Government Accountability Office says most of those miles are not regulated by the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, which means they are not inspected for leaks or ruptures.